Jolene Blalock
As a model and actress, Jolene Blalock (born in San Diego, California) is most famous for her role as Vulcan science officer T'Pol on Star Trek: Enterprise. She also played T'Pol's second foremother (great-grandmother) T'Mir in the Enterprise episode "Carbon Creek". During her youth, she became a huge fan of Star Trek: The Original Series (becoming a self-confessed Trekkie), with her favorite character on the program being Mr. Spock. It seems only fitting, then, that she was given the role of the Vulcan T'Pol, whose presence on Enterprise serves as a lead-in for Spock in the original series, set over a hundred years later. Blalock began acting as a child, performing in school plays, and began modeling when she was in her teens. At the age of 23, she made her first television appearance in an episode of the sitcom Veronica's Closet, starring fellow Vulcan actress Kirstie Alley (who played Saavik in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan). This was followed with a lead role in the 2000 made-for-TV movie Jason and the Argonauts, in which she played the role of Medea. Also starring in this movie were fellow Trek alumni Frank Langella and Brian Thompson. Also in 2000, Blalock made a guest appearance in an episode of the UPN series G vs E called "Cougar Pines". Also guest-starring in this episode was her future Enterprise castmate John Billingsley (Phlox). In 2001, prior to winning the role of T'Pol on Enterprise, Blalock starred in the TV mini-series Diamond Hunters and made an appearance in a segment of the TV movie On the Edge, which also featured Christopher Lloyd and Bruce Davison. Blalock would go on to co-star with Davison in the Enterprise episode "The Seventh". While Enterprise was in production, Blalock appeared as Ishta in two episodes of the acclaimed science fiction series Stargate SG-1. Blalock played the role as T'Pol in all 98 episodes of all four seasons of Star Trek: Enterprise, beginning in 2001 and ending in 2005. For her performance, she won a Saturn Award and a special "Cinescape Genre Face of the Future" award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films in 2002. She also received Saturn Award nominations in 2003 and 2004. As a die-hard fan of the original series, Blalock was an outspoken critic of the direction the show had taken in its third season, accusing the series of lacking creativity and accusing the producers for being out of touch with the fans. Although she saw season four as an improvement over anything that had come before, she nonetheless criticized the series finale, "These Are the Voyages...", because of its lack of focus on the Enterprise crew, going so far as to call the episode "fucking appalling." The fact that the final day of filming fell on her 30th birthday likely didn't help matters. However, she would later remark that she understood the rationale behind the writers' reasons for including cast members from The Next Generation in the final episode. Although initially reluctant to appear at Star Trek conventions, Blalock is currently an active participant in the convention circuit. She also remains active in television, including an appearance on the hit ABC series Lost (although the episode in which she appeared never aired). She also recently made her feature film debut in the thriller Slow Burn (co-starring Bruce McGill) which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2005 and is set for nationwide release in June 2007. She appeared in another thriller, Shadow Puppets (with Tony Todd), set for release in 2007. She is currently filming the thriller First Fear in the United Kingdom. Besides acting, Blalock is also an avid surfer, an activity she has enjoyed since she was a child. She also enjoys a number of other sports (including snow boarding and skateboarding) and is also a skilled artist. Married to TV executive Michael Rapino since April 2003, Blalock currently resides in Los Angeles, California. External Links * Jolene Blalock biography at StarTrek.com * * * Ishta at Stargate Command, the Stargate wikia. Blalock, JoleneBlalock, Jolene de:Jolene Blalock es:Jolene Blalock fr:Jolene Blalock nl:Jolene Blalock pl:Jolene Blalock